Knowing that the tension between Sav and Michael couldn’t be a good thing for the coven, Steve had suggested they take off for the States. Last Lyra’d heard, they were tearing up a streak in New York City, which only made Lyra breath a little easier. Michael was safe with Steve, she knew that. And the more distance between him and Sav at the moment, the better. Eventually, she knew Sav’s jealousy would calm down, but she didn’t care to test that theory just yet.

Joe and Lily had gone on a trip to somewhere that even Lyra wasn’t sure of. They’d taken their daughter Rose with them, trying to get to know the rapidly growing girl before she decided she didn’t need her mother and father anymore. When Lyra and Sav had last seen the child, just past six months of age, she could barely be called a child any longer. Physically, Rose had surpassed many fourteen year olds. And mentally, to her father’s displeasure, she had the mind of a twenty year old woman now. Joe was terrified Rose would decide she could make it on her own, though the girl showed no signs of that as yet.

So, Sav and Lyra pretty much had the coven house to themselves these days. Dovic dropped by for a few days at a time, then flew off for a few on his own. Cyra, Rick and his daughter Lauren were still there, but Lyra didn’t see much of them. Cyra was buried over her head back into her historical text and manuscripts. Much to her delight, both Rick and Lauren had decided that history wasn’t as boring as they’d thought. Some nights, Lyra would come up into the living room to find Rick and Lauren engrossed in another of Cyra’s fascinating stories. Then there were times when all three of them had their noses stuck into different text books and didn’t say a word. They were off in their own little world now, which made it more surprising when Lyra heard a knock at her door.

“Lyra?” There was a second soft knock at her door, followed by Cyra’s head popping around the corner. “I’m not intruding, am I?”

“Nah,” Lyra smiled as she ruffled Sav’s curly hair. “We were just talking about going to California for a while.”

“I was hoping you two were still planning to make that trip,” Cyra answered, plopping down on the side of their bed. At the curious look on Lyra’s face, Cyra continued, “You remember my friend Linda, the historian?” Lyra nodded. “She called this afternoon. Apparently, she thinks there might be a mega coven out there in L.A., using a bar for cover. Maybe even to lure in victims. If you weren’t going, I was going to call Phil and Leesha to check it out. But I’d rather you were the one who looked into it.”

“What does she mean, mega coven?” asked Lyra as she tried to keep from figuring out how to keep Sav out of this while he was sitting next to her. “I mean, she didn’t try to get into the bloody mess, did she?”

“You know Linda,” Cyra sighed. “Thinks she can take on the world, even at seventy. She made it as far as the bar, then just sat and watched how many vamps came and went that night. She counted forty.” Cyra paused, giving that information time to sink in.

“FORTY?” Lyra squeaked.

“Forty, luv,” Cyra said quietly. “Now you can see why I’m concerned about this. That many vampires, feeding in the same area, is bound to make some waves for us. I just want you to find out if she’s right about this before we do anything about trying to break it up into smaller covens.”

“Okay, I’ll look into it while we’re out there,” Lyra answered after a moment’s thought.

“We’ll check it out,” said Sav, cutting Lyra off before she could close him out of the danger.

Heaving a sigh, Lyra corrected herself. “We’ll check it out.”

“Thanks, sweetie,” Cyra said in relief. “I was hoping you wouldn’t mind. I’ve got a ton of things I’m working on right now here. L.A. is just out of the question unless it’s an emergency.”

“Find out anything interesting?”

“Actually, I’ve got one that Rick doesn’t know he gave me that’s got some very strange prophecies in it,” Cyra answered, a sudden light of amusement coming into her eyes. “I’ve translated one section of it and I honestly think it refers to me, which is kind of funny. The first section is a historical account of a raid into Russia, and, if I‘m right, it was the raid where Connor saved me. Before we’d taken the names we christened ourselves with as vampires. But the last section is the really weird part. Some prophecy about the bloody mother and her three daughters. More about a war, or I actually think it’s about stopping a war. Then your usual disease and famine stuff. I’m still trying to figure out how I fit into it all…”

“How did Rick give it to you and not know it?” Lyra asked, her curiosity peaked now.

“The damn thing was the reason I went to his apartment the first night we met,” Cyra smiled. “He’d found this manuscript, but didn’t have a clue what he had. As soon as I saw it, I got a chill. It was in vampiric script, which wasn’t common even two thousand years ago. I started translating it some that night, but he interrupted me. So I wiped it from his mind and replaced it with one I had laying around at my place. I’ve just gotten to the point where I’ve had time to start working on it again, now that things have calmed down here.”

“Well, I’ll take care of California and you take care of two thousand year old fan mail, how’s that sound?” Lyra said with a wink.

“Thanks, luv,” Cyra sighed, getting up off the bed. “When are you leaving?”

Looking back at Sav, who was already getting up off the bed behind her, Lyra said, “Well, from the looks of things, I’d say tonight.”

“If we get this taken care of, maybe we can actually go off by ourselves for a while,” Sav grumbled and Lyra shot him a warning look. “You know what I mean, luv. We can’t even plan a vacation without something going wrong, can we?”

“We don’t know that anything’s wrong, Rick,” Lyra said, afraid they were going to start a fight now.

“I know,” he sighed, looking down at her. “But you know what I mean. Something’s always going on.” He saw the worried look on her face and Cyra’s and said, “I’m just bitching, let a man complain, alright? We’re going, I’m just grumbling about it. I think I deserve to complain once in a while, right?” Then he shot both of them one of his most stunning smiles and Lyra managed to relax a little bit. “I really don’t feel like flying on the wind over there tonight, though. How about an airplane for once?”

“Okay,” Lyra smiled, leaning over the bed for the phone as Cyra laid down the directions about getting in contact with Linda. Then she slipped quietly out of the room as Lyra booked them on a red eye flight to L.A..

The next morning, they checked into a hotel then called Linda. The elderly woman gave Lyra the details of the coven’s location, as well as a healthy dose of warnings about going in there alone, before Lyra ended the call with a long sigh.

“She’s as bad as Si about telling me what’s good for me,” Lyra laughed as she replaced the phone in the cradle.

“They just both think they need to look out for you, baby,” Sav smiled. “You have been known to get a bit reckless, you know…”

Spinning to face him with mock indignation, Lyra asked, “Oh, REALLY? I’m reckless? You haven’t known Siona long enough then! The stories I could tell you…”

Sav grabbed her and pulled her down into his arms, saying, “But not right now, okay? I’m exhausted from that flight and I think we’re both going to have to be in top form tonight, so can we please get some sleep?”

“Sleep?” Lyra chuckled. “What’s that? It feels like it’s been forever since I had a good night’s rest.” She shot Sav a wicked grin, at which he had the decency to look appropriately ashamed.

“Sorry,” he whispered with his own impish grin.

Snuggling down against his body, Lyra answered softly, “No worries, luv.” Then she got serious and said, “Sav, if anything goes wrong tonight, I want you to get out of there. No playing hero, none of that shit. Get out and head for Phil’s place. If we get separated, we’ll meet there.”

“We’re not going to get separated, honey,” he said drowsily. “I’m sure we’ve gotten through much worse than checking up on this coven.” He yawned noisily, then held her tighter. “Do I have to name them? Crystala, her boyfriend, Dara…”

“Enough!” she hissed. Dara was one topic she tried to steer Sav clear off. The last thing she needed was to have to deal with his guilt if he found out what she’d done to his ex-wife. “SLEEP!”

“Yes, mum,” he chuckled as he closed his eyes. A moment later, she heard his soft snore as he fell sound asleep. For her, sleep was long in coming as she tried to figure a way out of every scenario she could imagine about the coming night.

Just after sunset, they grabbed a taxi to the slum district Linda had told them about. Asked why they simply didn’t fly in, Lyra explained that she was trying to keep things as low key as possible. Sav gave her a funny look but didn’t say anything else about it. When they pulled up in front of the bar entrance, Lyra saw several people standing just outside. Only a couple of them worried her. Vampires.

They got out of the cab and stood off to the side of a larger group of mortals. If she could, she wanted to make other vampires approach them. Which didn’t take long. A tall blond man walked slowly over to them, eyeing Lyra as if he was trying to measure her. He was followed by a very young, very tiny female and Lyra shook her head. This one couldn’t be more than a week old as they measured time.

“Come here often?” the male asked quietly.

“Actually, first visit,” Lyra replied, wondering where this was going to go.

He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“A friend told me I should check out this bar,” Lyra said evenly. “She said it might suit my tastes.”

“I’m sure the bar will satisfy you fine,” he said, looking at his girl. “But the other entertainments…that’s what I’m here for.”

“Hmm,” Lyra stalled for time. What was she supposed to say? “She didn’t tell me much about that. Said it should be a surprise when we got here.”

“COOL!” the female spoke for the first time, her blond pixie cut bobbing in excitement. “I’m not the only one who doesn’t know what’s going to happen tonight!”

“Neecee, shh!” the man exclaimed. “How many times have I warned you, it’s not a good idea to let other vampires know…uh…what you‘ve seen?”

“Less than a month old,” Lyra said quietly and the man jumped.

“You know how old she is?”

“Her blood hasn’t lost all it’s human smell yet, my friend,” Lyra said with a patient smile. “Not to worry, I’ll not hurt your fledgling. It’s not my way.” She held out her hand, saying, “I’m Lyra and this is Richard.”

Taking her hand and pulling her in close to look into her eyes, the man finally nodded and said, “I’m Jack and this is Neecee. I’m trying to tell her about taking care of certain information, but she’s…”

“So young,” Lyra chuckled. “Impetuosity of youth, Jack. She’ll learn, if she lives long enough.”

“And how long have you ’lived’, Lyra?” Jack asked, then looked ashamed of himself.

“Like you said, some things are better kept to yourself,” Lyra answered, turning to look at the door. “Shall we go in?”

Without another word, Jack grabbed Neecee’s hand and pulled her in through the thick steel doors. Inside, it looked like a dozen other American bars Lyra had been in. She could sense several vampires in the area, but only a few were actually sitting among the bar patrons. It look like it was a busy night.

“This is for show, I think,” Jack said in a hushed voice. “The real fun is downstairs…” He led them past the stylishly dressed customers to a small door at the back. A couple sitting next to the door stared at them for a long moment before Lyra looked their way. Vampires, both of them. The woman’s eyes flicked over Sav before she reached into a small metal box on the table. A second later, they heard a buzzing noise, then the door was opened for them by a middle aged mortal man.

Sav’s fangs descended almost as soon as he crossed the threshold of the room. The smell of blood was everywhere! It soon became obvious why. In the center of the room, two dirty young women hung from chains as their life drained away from punctures all over their bodies. One of them was unconscious. The other was still crying as she bled, begging for them to let her go. Lyra took a step towards them before Sav grabbed her arm roughly. “We can’t help them, luv,” he whispered to only her. “We’re too outnumbered here…”

Inhaling deeply, Lyra’s nostrils flared as if she was fighting the very stench of the room. She closed her eyes, trying to fight the anger that was beginning to boil in her. “Just like Crystala…”

“Not here, baby,” Sav cautioned. Looking around, Sav’s eyes shot open as he spotted a shelf of what looked to be human hearts. Some were so old, they’d begun to fade into the mold that grew on them. But a man was triumphantly getting ready to place another trophy into that macabre collect and Sav looked away. Unfortunately, his eyes went down and he found himself looking at the empty chest that had once held that heart. His fingers dug into Lyra’s arm even further, his mind crying out that he wanted to leave this place.

Lyra was having a hard time reigning in her anger. Counting five different mortals being tortured, she’d already written this coven off as not worth saving. But Jack looked back at her and said, “This isn’t the real deal here. This keeps the more blood thirsty happy. But what you want to see is one more floor down. Used to be the wine cellar. What they’ve got down there is amazing!”

“I’m tired of waiting to find out what’s so cool,” Lyra answered, fighting hard to keep her voice even. “What the fuck is going on here?”

“Ladies, gentlemen, vampires all!” a voice came from by the back of the room. Scattered applause broke out across the room, as this was the obvious signal to the ‘festivities’ for which they’d been waiting. The crowd moved away from it’s victims, pushing toward the female speaker. The woman stood on a small step, looking out at the assembled group.

“I see we’ve got a couple of new ones in our midst,” the coven leader said with a smile. Her eyes barely ran over Sav and Neecie before coming to rest on Lyra. They popped open in surprise as she studied Lyra for a long moment, then she let out a sigh. “My name is Erzebet and I’m the mistress here. But, following tradition, there are certain formats we must go by.” She opened a small curtain, revealing a flat quartz stone with two palm shaped grooves. “If following our rules, the eldest vampire here feeds first. She also gets the privilege of bringing over new pets.”

“And how do you determine who the oldest is?” Lyra asked curiously.

“Ah, that’s where this lovely thing comes in,” Erzebet smiled, running her hand lovingly over the large flat stone at her side. “This is the Pietra di Alimentazione…”

“Stone of power,” Lyra murmured.

“Hmm, you do know your Italian then,” Erzebet said with a wicked smile. “The Pietra measures the power of a vampire. Since we gain in power as we age, the strongest is therefore almost always the oldest. You!” she pointed at Neecee, who gave a slight jump. “You’re so young, this is almost cruel. But we must uphold tradition.”

“What do I do?”

“Place your hand on the stone, deary.” Erzebet stood off to one side, her own hand already resting in one of the grooves. Neecee put her hand down, held it there for about five seconds, then whipped it away as though burned.

“That was HOT!” she complained, flinging her hand about in the air to cool it off.

“The weaker will always find the Pietra to hot to hold,” Erzebet smiled. She turned to Sav and said with a sadistic smile, “You’re next, luvvy.”

“I don’t think so,” Lyra said quickly. She pushed Sav behind her and said, “I’m stronger than he is, so there’s no point in testing him.”

Her hand still resting on the stone, Erzebet said confidently, “It’s my coven, my rules, dear. I’ll chose who to challenge and in what order. I want him…”

“And I said ‘no’,” Lyra hissed, slamming her hand down onto the Pietra. She looked levelly at Erzebet, daring her to challenge her. But Erzebet’s thoughts quickly changed as she almost instantly felt the stone begin to heat on her side. A second later, she jerked her hand away and stared at Lyra in disbelief. She hadn’t even lasted as long against Lyra as that near newborn had lasted against Erzebet!

“Slight change in the rules, eh, *dear*?” Lyra smirked.

“You took away my right of challenge!” she hissed.

“You want to challenge Richard, be my guest,” Lyra said with a satisfied smile. “Just know that you’re no longer the oldest here, so beware. If your coven holds to the old rules, you’re…”

“I know the rules!” she growled. “But I want to challenge him!”

“Richard?” Lyra motioned to the stone. Letting out a sigh, Sav stepped forward and put his hand in Lyra’s former place. Grinning now that she’d gotten her way, Erzebet put her hand back down and waited for Sav to jump away from the stone. Only, he didn’t.

“You see, dear,” Lyra whispered as she walked behind Erzebet. “You’ve forgotten something here. I created him. And I’m far more than you are. He’s fed on MY blood, not merely human, time and again. And with each feeding, his power increases. So don’t hope to get too much satisfaction from his pain.” Erzebet grimaced as the stone held her fast. Lyra leaned over her shoulder and said, “Did I mention he’s only four years old as we count time?”

Erzebet spun around, her hand still on the stone and hissed, “That’s impossible!”

“Oh no, dear girl, it’s not!” Lyra smiled. Whipping back around to the stone, Erzebet stared in disbelief as it started to heat up on HER again. She nearly knocked it over as she pulled away from the stone’s heat.

“Four years old?” Erzebet said in amazement. “How?”

“Just as I said,” Lyra said quietly. “He’s fed from me more times than I can count. So, are we done with your little games now?”

“No, I’m sorry,” a tall vampire said apologetically from the back of the room. “We must know who is the more powerful. You’ll have to test against your fledgling now.”

“NO!”

“Lyra,” Sav whispered, moving to her side. “Just do it. Whatever this thing does, it’s obviously not going to kill me. Let’s just get it over with.” Sav went back to the far side of the table and slipped his hand back onto the Pietra. Wordlessly, Lyra placed her hand back into the groove and waited. About twenty seconds later, Sav moved quickly away from the stone and started blowing on his hand.

“Very well,” Erzebet said grudgingly. “Mistress…?”

“Alyria,” Lyra said quietly.

“Mistress Alyria will commence tonight activities,” Erzebet finished. Then she turned to the other vampires and smiled broadly. “We’ve found one you’ve all been requesting. A difficult one, actually, as he became a bit of a recluse in later life.” Her grin faded as she motioned for Lyra to go towards a door at the back of the room. “If you’ll all come with me, we’ll begin!”

The crowd pushed forward eagerly, heading for a door at the back of the room. Down a long, narrow staircase and into a dim basement room they walked. Lyra stopped abruptly at the foot of the stairs, looking around in disbelief. The room was lined with cages. And in almost every cage was a vampire. At the center of the room, one of the cells was curtained off and she could her a still-mortal heartbeat coming from inside it. The vampires she could see mostly looked away from them as they came down the steps. But one, a tall black haired man, stared at them with slitted eyes full of hatred. Lyra tried to reach out to him, only to feel the full brunt of his emotions. This man had been tortured almost to the brink of insanity and she wondered if there was anything she could do to heal the pain he was in. Then, feeling an irresistible pull, she walked slowly to his cell. Sav followed on her heels, not sure what she was doing.

“Dear Gods,” Lyra whispered as she came face to face with him. “You used to be on that show…that vampire show…Buffy the Vampire Slayer, didn’t you?”

“What, you didn’t know that?” he said angrily. “If not for that shit, I wouldn’t be here right now. I’d be home, calling to check on my grandkids. But these freaks, they thought they’d bring me here for kicks. Turn me into this…thing.”

“What’s your name, luv?” she asked softly.

“It was David…” he answered, his eyes going distant. He seemed to have trouble thinking for a moment, then whispered, “David…Boreanaz…I think that’s right. I’ve been here so long and all they’ll call me is Angel, so I don’t know anymore.”

“I’ll try to help, if I can,” Lyra answered softly, pitching her voice for his ears only. His hands griped the cage bars and she wrapped her long fingers around his, squeezing tight.

For a moment, hope flared in his dark eyes. Then, to Lyra’s surprise, he grabbed her arm and pulled it through the bars. He held it for a second, then said, “Here’s how you can help me!” A second later, his fangs sunk into her arm and she jumped, trying to pull away without thinking. Sav moved around her, about to pull him away from her arm. But she quieted him, saying, “He needs to feed, luv. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. He’s so weak, it’s a wonder he‘s still moving right now.”

“Lyra, I don’t think he’s the only one in that shape,” Sav said as he looked around. His eyes traced over another tall, black haired man and Sav jumped, saying, “I think I recognize him! And…Oh my God! Lyra, these guys are all actors, did you realize that?”

“Really?” she asked in disbelief, starting to look from cage to cage. Sure enough, she started to recognize people. The girl in the next cage looked amazingly like Kirsten Dunst had as a younger woman. On the other side of her, Lyra saw a man who looked a good bit like a pop singer she’d seen back in the early eighties. He’s done a pilot for a vampire show, ‘Nick Knight’ , that had eventually become a cult hit with another actor in the featured role once the name of the show had been changed. Ah, yes, his name was Rick Springfield. The next cell held an actor she knew vaguely from ‘Queen of the Damned’. Stuart Townsend, that was right. None of them looked healthy enough to move much on their own. Needing to look around more before Erzebet realized what was happening, she ran her hand over David’s hair and whispered, “I’ll help you, but you’ve got to let go now, luv.” For a long minute, she thought he was too far gone to hear her. But, slowly, he released her and looked at her with sullen, angry eyes.

“Thank you,” she said softly as she turned to look into the other cages. At the corner, she knew she saw Donald Sutherland’s son, Keifer. Shaking her head sadly, she looked across and saw the last visible cage. The girl there was from the same TV series as David. She’d played Drusilla, that much Lyra could pretty much guarantee. The rest of the cages were hidden from view by the curtain in the middle of the room.

“As I said upstairs,” Erzebet was continuing, not noticing what Lyra was doing at the moment. “We’ve finally managed to achieve the coup de grace of our hunt. The one fictional vampire we’ve had more request for than any other. Spike!” This last was said as she ripped down the curtain from the center cell.

A man with salt and pepper sat crouched in a corner of the cage. He was about sixty, though he looked in good shape for a man of that age. He looked up at the assembled crowd and started to smile, obviously thinking this was a joke. Then his eyes fell on David and went wide. “What the hell is going on here?”

“I think we’ve already told you, Spike,” Erzebet said with a wicked smile. “You’re finally going to realize the dream of becoming a vampire. For real, this time.”

“I don’t know who you are, or where you got that look alike for Boreanaz, but you’re one freaky woman,” he said, looking at each face in the crowd to see if this could still be a prank. When he saw the hungry expressions on their faces, he stood up and tried to rattle the cage bars. They held tight and suddenly the reality of his situation hit him. “You’re fucking crazy, lady. Let me out of here!”

“Mistress Alyria?” Erzebet said, ignoring the ranting coming from James’ cell. She turned to face Lyra, saying, “It’s time to perform your duties here, my dear. Make him one of our pets, if you please…”

For a second, Lyra thought of refusing. But she could tell if she didn’t do it, Erzebet would take her place. And given the streak of sadism she’d seen in the other vampire at the Pietra, she knew it would be as painful as possible. Or, she could simply NOT bring him over and feed from him herself if she thought Lyra disagreed with it. She walked slowly to the cage door, at which James pulled as far away as he possibly could.

“Listen, lady,” James said with a tremble in his voice. “I don’t know how you freakin’ came to think you’re really vampires, but if you don’t back off, you’re gonna get hurt in here.”

“I’m sorry, luv,” Lyra answered quietly. “But you couldn’t hurt me if you tried.” He started to speak, but she said, “And if you try, this will only hurt you far more than it has to…”

“What, you gonna cut me or something to drink my blood?” he asked trying to find anyplace in the cage that was far away from her as she walked towards him.

“Or something,” she answered, opening her mouth so that he could see her fangs descend into her mouth. His eyes flew open and he started to stammer, “But, but, vampires aren’t real! They can’t be!”

“We’re very real, honey,” Lyra said patiently as she reached for him. “And, unfortunately, you’re about to become one.” She grabbed him more forcefully than she wanted to and pulled him to her. She grabbed his hair and pulled his head off to the side as he tried to break away from her. “Don’t move,” she whispered. “Fighting only makes it hurt more.” Then, she brought all her strength into play to hold him motionless as her fangs broke the skin of his throat. He let out a scream of pain that made Sav wince and Erzebet cheer. As she held him tight, she started an inner dialogue directly into his mind.

“This wasn’t my decision,” she thought to him. “I’d rather see you actually get to grow old and die a natural death. But if I don’t do this, she’ll make it much more painful for you. I’ll do everything I can to help you escape here, once this is over. But, until then, play her game and scream for all you’re worth. She enjoys the pain.” He had stopped yelling for a moment, to Erzebet’s disappointment, but followed Lyra’s instructions as soon as he received them. He even acted like he was still trying to fend her off, which Lyra encouraged. But, all the while, she was giving him information he was going to need in the future.

When she’d taken all she needed to, Lyra pulled back and slashed her own wrist. James had crumpled weakly to the floor, so she knelt down and let him drink a deep draught of her blood. Then she watched as he slumped the rest of the way down into death.

“It is done,” Lyra announced dramatically to the crowd. As one, they let out a cheer. Then they started to move around to the other cages, sizing up the ‘merchandise’ of the evening. Erzebet stepped into the cage and said, “I can take it from here, Alyria.”

For a moment, Erzebet backed up as she saw the look in Lyra’s eyes. Then, something else caught Lyra’s attention and she murmured, “As you wish…”

Bolting out of the cage, she grabbed Sav and headed up the stairs with him in tow.

She whispered as she nodded toward the bar upstairs, “We’ve got company, Sav.”

“And this is a good thing?” Sav asked cautiously, wondering just who would be there. Then he closed his eyes and smiled. Steve.

“More than Steve, sweetie,” Lyra answered with a relieved sigh. “He’s not alone up there.”

“Well, should we go meet them?” Sav inquired with a worried smile, trying to mask what he was feeling from the room full of vampires.

Lyra glanced around the room, then nodded her head. “This lot is pretty well occupied. They won’t notice us leaving now.” Lacing her fingers through Sav’s, she led him into through the ’entertainment’ room for the vampires and out into the bar. Almost immediately, she spotted Steve, Michael, Phil and Leesha sitting in a dark corner of the room. As soon as she saw them, she broke into a relieved smile. Maybe now that they weren’t so out numbered, they’d be able to help the helpless vampires held captive below.

“God, I’m glad to see you guys!” Sav said, reaching out and pulling Steve in for a hug. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he was even glad to have Michael there right then.

But Michael cut him short. “Don’t be to happy to see us until we get you out of here. And be glad Cyra called me and Steve in from New York. This place is surrounded by Hunters.”

“Recon?” Lyra asked in concern.

“No, I don’t think so,” he answered, shaking his head as he looked around the bar. “There’s too many of them for that. I think we just walked right into one of their raids. But,” he said, looking at Lyra finally, “IF we just walk away, not fly, we should be able to get under their radar. Most of the time, they expect vampires to fly away, rather than walk…”

“We can’t leave,” Lyra said, putting a sudden stop to what Michael was saying. “They’ve got some of us in cages down there…”

“Famous people,” Sav said with a sad shake of his head.

“Celebrities who played vampires in movies or on TV,” Lyra explained. “Well, they’re real vampires now and this coven feeds off them. It’s up to us to get them out of here and see what we can do to help them adjust to a life they didn’t necessarily want…”

“How the hell are you planning on doing that?” Phil asked incredulously.

“I don’t know, but first I’ve got to deal with the Hunters,” she sighed. “Then we can deal with the room full of vampires that aren’t going to want to lose their ’playthings’.” Without another word, Lyra rose and headed out the front door of the bar. Sav was only a step behind her, followed by the others at a slower pace.

With a deep breath, Lyra prayed she wasn’t about to commit suicide with her plan. Gliding slowly up to the Hunters’ hiding place, she watched curiously as weapons seemed to fly away from their hands at her approach. She turned and looked at the group of vampires coming up behind her. From the look of concentration on Phil’s face, apparently he’d found his own little cache of hidden powers. Smiling at the unforeseen backup, she moved toward the small group of Hunters hiding behind the air conditioning unit on the roof.

“I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Lyra said calmly, holding off on the use of her own powers until all else failed. It was better to have an understanding with someone who actually had use of their mind, rather than forcing it out with deception.

“Listen, lady,” a voice said from off to her right. “If there’s one thing I know about your kind, that type of promise doesn’t really mean much, okay? So just kill us and get it over with, rather than trying to con us!”

Stepping forward, Michael said, “Yeah, that’s how I used to think. But she saved me from a fire in Rome, so I’d believe her if I was you. She doesn’t kill unless she has to…”

“What, she saved you to make you a vamp?” One of the men behind the air conditioner stood up. “Doesn’t sound much like saving to me!”

“Hey, becoming a vamp was my choice,” Michael answered, taking a step closer to them. “My fucking back was broken, I was goddamn useless! But she didn’t decide it for me. I asked for it after the doctor she got for me said I’d never fucking walk again…”

“You got a broken back in a fire in Rome?” the first man asked. “Doing what?”

“Being a Hunter,” Michael said boldly, turning to face the man.

“Michael?” he asked quietly. “Mike Corvin?”

“Mitch?” Michael said, squinting slightly to see the man in the dark.

“Yeah,” he replied, walking up to Michael. “Fucking hell, man, you’re a goddamn vamp now? How the hell did that happen?”

“Just like I said. I was after a nest in Rome, she was just there to save a friend. Her friend died before she could stop us, but then the building came down. She pulled me out and got me to a doc, who said I’d broken my back,” Michael sighed. “They’re not like we thought, Mitch. Honestly. I’m mean, I’m sure there’s plenty of them who kill just for the hell of it. But not Lyra and her coven. They really just try to live, that’s all.”

“How the hell do they feed then?” came the inquiry from across the roof.

“We’ve got a deal with a couple of blood banks and slaughter houses,” Lyra answered softly. “My coven doesn’t kill unless someone’s life is in danger. Call your Dublin office if you want to confirm this. Talk to Reginald White.”

“You know Reg?” Mitch asked, now staring at her in amazement. “Okay, well, I’ll take Mike’s word you’re okay. But we’ve got a nest here that‘s holding people hostage, so why are you here?”

“I just got told to check it out,” Lyra answered. “A coven that was as large as this one isn’t supposed to exist. It’ll put all of us in danger of exposure.”

“We’ve got hostages to rescue, before the fucking vamps find out we’re here and just drain them,” a voice said from behind Mitch.

Looking into the darkness behind Michael’s friend, Lyra replied, “You can’t do anything for the hostages. You’ll have to let me handle them.”

“Why?” the man challenged. “Just because they know your kind exists?” He moved forward and put his hand on Mitch’s shoulder. “They’re just going to kill them to get rid of the evidence. Don’t you see…”

“You can’t help them because the coven leader has already changed all of them into vampires,” Lyra said patiently. “The only thing you can do is kill them, which I’ll never allow. Some of them are newborns. If they can be saved, I’ll take care of them. If they can’t, then I’ll take care of that problem, too. But YOU are not to touch them.”

Taking a deep breath, Lyra looked around and knew the next question before they asked it. “I’ll keep my people down there until the last minute, then we’ll make a run for it.” Turning to Mitch, she said, “Give Michael a radio. He’ll keep you posted on when you can come in. If anyone flies off before he radios you, then shoot them. After the signal, get into the bar and wait for the next move.”

“That sounds a little vague to me,” the second man said.

To which Lyra could only reply, “I’m flying by the seat of my pants here, honey. You’re just going to have to work with me on this. You’ll get the vamps who need killing, I’ll get the ones that might be saved.” She looked around at her group, then said, “So, everything settled, then? Right?” Lyra asked, looking at each of the Hunters faces. When she finally came back to Mitch, he nodded and Lyra said, “Phil and Leesha are going to be waiting just inside the bar, where the mortals are at. You know, those people you’re supposed to be protecting? So if you try to double cross me…”

“We won’t,” Mitch said. Checking with Michael, she saw him nod and realized she was just going to have to take their word on this. As soon as they crossed the threshold into the bar, Michael said, “They’re going to get plenty of kills tonight. I don’t think they’ll give us any problems.”

“I hope not,” Lyra answered as they made it back to the doorman. He let them in without checking their fangs the second time, so they slid past him and down to where the crowd awaited.

Lyra slipped silently back into the basement of the bar, followed by Sav, Steve and Michael. At the scene that greeted her, she stopped dead in her tracks. An older man, mortal, had been thrown to the floor of the room and was surrounded by vampires eager for the kill. Shouts were nearly deafening as two males tried to be heard.

"We've come for the bounty on vampire actors," the taller one said, trying to be arrogant but failing as he screamed over the din. "He acted the part in one episode of a series, so that qualifies!"

"One episode in a second rate sci-fi show?" A vampire Lyra had seen earlier that evening yelled. "Come on! You can't possibly believe he got much acclaim for that!"

Steve gripped Lyra's arm hard and pulled her back against him. "I know that poor bastard from somewhere, I swear it!"

“You’re not the only one,” Lyra whispered roughly. “I’m think I’ve, um, well, feed from him before, but I don’t even remember his name. Must have been a long time ago! There’s just barely a link there, not even enough to tell me who he is…”

The second bounty hunter, calmer than the first, waited until everything had began to hush before he said softly, "It's not like he wasn't famous for other things, my friends. His band practically ruled the world for a couple of years back in the late 1980's. Let's not forget that!"

"Not the type of fame we usually go for though, my dearest," Erzebet said sedately, looking at the frightened mortal who'd been throw to her feet. "Look around you. Even darling Rick was the star of his show, if only for the pilot. But a bit player in a science fiction show that I didn't even like? I'm thinking he'd just make a lovely, famous little meal and not much more. Mmmm, I do so love the taste of musicians after a long party!" Her eyes went slowly to the steps, stopping as she looked directly at Lyra. Seeing the distressed look on Lyra’s face, one eyebrow shot up and an evil smirk twisted her mouth as she pretended to consider the mortal man’s fate.

Spinning to face Sav, Lyra hissed, "Sav, find out who the hell he is!"

"ME?" Sav squeaked, staring back at her blankly. "HOW?"

"Read their bloody fucking minds," she whispered desperately. "No, better yet, go straight to the source before we're too late. Look into his mind and get me that damn name!" Meanwhile, the older man looked around at the crowd with fear in his eyes. Sweat dripped from his thinning blond hair. His long limbs tangled into each other as he tried to pull away from the animals that surrounded him.

"He's so scared, I can't seem to get it," Sav murmured. "It's right there, at the edge, but I don't think he could even tell you it right now." Clinching his eyes shut tighter, Sav strained to concentrate. But Erzebet had made her decision in those few seconds.

"I've eaten my fill for this evening, but I'm sure plenty of you are still a bit peckish," she said with a gracious smile to her admirers. When she saw the look of rage that crossed Lyra‘s normally serene face, her smile grew even wider. "Please, be my guest. Or should I say, eat my guest." This last bit of morbid humor was said as she waved her talon-like hands down at the man below her. It only took a second for a dozen vampires to pounce on the man as he pulled himself to his feet using the iron of James' cage for support. A second later, Sav gripped Lyra's arm with bruising fingers as he started to pull information from the man.

"McKagan," Sav whispered, his eyes wide. "That's his last name…"

Before Sav could finish the thought, Steve hissed, "Christ, Duff McKagan."

Lyra heard the thought more than the words, but it didn't matter. She'd already started to make her way down the stairs with Michael hard on her heels. All she knew was that the old man couldn't take this for very long and it didn't matter who he'd really been ten, twenty or even thirty years before. His hoarse screams were tearing into her mind, enraging her beyond reason. Beyond any thought. Bodies flew in every direction as her anger found an outlet. Even Erzebet slammed into the bars of Juliet Landau's cage. As his body lost the support of it's attackers, Duff slipped to the floor. Unconscious, or so Lyra prayed. Closing herself off to everyone else, Lyra listened to his heart and heard that fatal rhythm. As much as she hated being put into this position, she made a fateful decision for him in that second. Biting her wrist, she poured her own blood into his mouth and waited for him to take it. After a long moment, she could feel him begin to pull on her vein and let out a slight sigh of relief. The exchange was brief, but Lyra knew it would be enough to bring him over. She laid him back against the bars gently and whispered to James, who'd moved closer to the pair of them, "Try to look out for him, okay?"

James nodded and Lyra turned her back on the two men. As she rose, she heard Sav yell from across the room, "LYRA, LOOK OUT! SHE'S GOT A STAKE!"

"Fucking bloody bint," Erzebet mumbled as she crossed the room purposefully. "Coming in here, spoiling all the fun for everyone." Lyra's anger returned, red and hot. The heat of a dozen hells burned in her mind as she faced off with the coven leader. Michael tried to come between the two of them, but his body was tossed aside like a rag doll by the shear force of Lyra's will. Sav grabbed Steve just before he could launch himself at Erzebet. Slamming him into the concrete, Sav said quietly, "You don't want any part of what's going through her mind right now."

"Erzebet? That stupid sow..."

"Lyra." Realizing that the only people directly behind Erzebet were Steve and himself, Sav pushed Steve down to the floor and spun around to watch Lyra.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THIS TO PEOPLE AND NOT PAY THE PRICE?" yelled Lyra. Her hand came up and Erzebet couldn't move towards her. Lyra's mind blocked her. Other vampires who'd played with humans like this chased through Lyra's thoughts. Mistress of her vampire ‘playground’, Crystala had tortured hundreds of mortals before Lyra had put a stop to it. And that same Crystala, seeking revenge and nearly killing both Sav and Joe. Michael, who'd trapped her and left her to the insanity of starvation before going after Sav, Joe AND Steve. At the thought of the threats to the men she loved, Lyra went over the edge. The heat of her rage churned and began to focus. One moment, it was all inside her mind, burning her thoughts apart. The next, from the tips of her extended fingers, the physical manifestation of it was shooting from her and hitting Erzebet in the chest. A stunned look came over the woman for a split second, then she let out a ear shattering scream of pain. Her body began to smolder and smoke as she dropped to the floor and tried to extinguish the flames that were eating her from the inside. But, by the time there was an visible sign of the fire, her body lay in a still heap of already charred flesh. Several of the others tried to take Lyra by surprise and met the same fate as their leader. The remaining vampires made a sudden race for the door, afraid Lyra might set them alight just for being there.

Shaking the dizziness from his head, Michael remembered the radio in his pocket and switched it on, hissing, "Change of plans! The vampires are all evacuating the building! Get your men to the roof with their crossbows, NOW!!!"

The sergeant's voice crackled over the airwaves, "Okay, men, you heard him. Load those crossbows and shoot the fucking things. IF IT FLIES, IT DIES!!!"

"Steve, get that door bolted!" Michael said quickly. "Then no one can get in here and it'll keep things cool til we can figure out what we're doing." But neither Steve nor Sav moved, both staring at Lyra with wide eyes. As the anger drained away, exhaustion hit her like a sledgehammer. She went down in a heap next to Duff's body, landing hard on her hands and knees. Just before unconsciousness claimed her, she looked at Michael and whispered, "Feed Duff before you lock that door."

"Fuck!" Realizing that the other two men were still in shock, Michael ran out the heavy door and up into the room where the vampires had been ‘entertaining’ themselves earlier. The room was empty but for the dead and dying people the vampires had been feeding on. Heading for the bar area above, he came to a halt when he saw the mortal doorman staring around him in disbelief.

"Hey, man, what the hell happened down there?" the man asked, grabbing Michael by the arm.

Preoccupied, it took Michael a moment to realize who the man was. But the guy kept speaking, "All those fucking vamps flew out of here like Satan was on their heels, I mean, that's just crazed, man. They wouldn't say a fucking thing, just ran like hell. What the hell are vamps afraid of, anyway? And where's Erzebet? Nobody would fucking say..."

"She's down below," Michael answered, realizing this man would be the perfect one for Duff. "Matter of fact, she wanted you to come down for a few instructions before she calls it a night."

"Okay," he said thoughtfully, following his "mistress's" command without a thought. He didn't hesitate to go into the prison chamber in front of Michael, only stopping when he realized he was in a roomful of nothing but the pets and the new vampires he'd only seen that night. He turned to look curiously at Michael, then froze when he saw the determined look on Michael's face. A hint of sorrow played around his eyes as Michael said softly, "I'm sorry, man, but Erzebet's not in charge here anymore and this guy's going to need you when he wakes up."

The doorman let out a sigh, his head hanging to his chest. Then he nodded and whispered, "Somehow I had a feeling this was going to happen one of these days." His fists clenched tight at his sides, he turned to face the roomful of vampires who had no reason to pity him and murmured, "Well, let's do it then."

Sav and Steve both crouched near Lyra, who was starting to come around. Michael glanced at the group and asked, "How is she?"

"I don't know, mate," Steve answered as Sav helped Lyra sit up next to Duff's body. "I mean, I've never seen anyone do that kind of shit before. That was just too fucking freaking, man."

"So not all vampires can do that?" David asked quietly from his cage. All four members of Lyra's coven jumped at the sound of his voice. In all the commotion surrounding Lyra's unexpected pyrotechnics, it seemed they'd forgotten all about the reasons for still being there.

"No," Lyra whispered, her head cradled in her hands to try to massage away the thundering ache that had developed. "Steve, see what you can do about getting them out of those bloody cages, please?"

Steve let out a long sigh. “Any chance of knowing where the keys are?”

“The bitch who ran this place always had them on her,” Keifer said quietly as he walked calmly to the front of his cage. “The ring was on her belt.”

“Ugh,” Steve groaned, looking at the burnt remains of the coven’s mistress. He walked slowly over to the body, kicking the corpse in front of her away, and wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Now I know why Phil became a vegetarian!” Bending down, he groaned and said, “Okay, this is truly a nasty bit of work.”

“Come on, mate!” Sav said with half a laugh. “Are they there or not?”

Picking through her clothes, he pulled the keys gingerly from the body and looked them over. “Well, there’s good news and bad news, folks. Most of the keys are okay, so getting some of these guys out shouldn’t be a problem. But it looks like two or three got melted together in the fire, so that’s going to be a problem.”

“Get out who you can and we’ll see what to do about the others in a few minutes,” Lyra whispered, still clutching her throbbing temples. Without thinking, she laid her head down on Duff’s shoulder, then sat upright. “God, how long was I out?”

“Couple of minutes, why?” Sav asked as he ran his fingers through the side of her hair.

“Okay,” she said as she made her way to her feet. “But he’ll be coming around any minute now.”

“I don’t think so,” Steve said with a mirthless laugh. “Remember how long it took for Rick to come around?”

“Yeah, so?” Lyra asked testily. “He had to regrow his entire arm, luv. There’s a bunch of tattoos to fade away, but it doesn’t look like Duff’s missing anything to me…”

“I told you I knew him,” Steve said as he managed to unlock Juliet’s cage and moved on to David’s. “Late 80’s? Major party for most of the guys out in L.A., right?” Lyra and Sav both nodded. Both of them had, unknown to the other at the time, attended several of those all out drug and booze bashes. “Fucking Duff could drink me under the table, honey. He’d have a bottle of Vodka for breakfast and still act sober back then.”

“And the point is?”

“Shit caught up to him in the mid 90’s,” Steve continued as he discovered that the key to David’s cell was one of the melted ones. He moved on, still speaking, as the second lock snapped open. “He’d given up the drugs, that much I know. But booze was always his poison of choice and it wouldn’t let him go easy. In the end, his body decided to give it up. His pancreas exploded back in ‘94. Most of it got removed, so that will be regrowing now, right?”

“Yeah,” Lyra said slowly, rubbing the sides of her head as she tried to think. “So you’re telling me I’ve got a few minutes til I’ve got to deal with this mess, right?”

“Yeah, you should have,” Steve answered, opening a third cage. A fourth cell opened quickly, then he discovered the other melted key belong to Rick’s door. Lyra shook her head, desperately trying to clear the painful fog from her brain. Tears of frustration formed in her eyes as she looked down at Duff’s corpse. Finally, she looked up at Steve and said, “Let someone else use those keys and get these guys out. You’re probably the strongest one here, so I need you getting those doors open.” She turned to Michael and said, “As soon as these guys are out, you need to get them upstairs. When Duff comes around, it won’t be a good idea for Juliet or Kirsten to be here…”

“What, you think he might hurt them?” Michael asked, his eyebrows knit in confusion.

“Only if you can get fucked to death, sweetie,” Lyra sighed. “Don’t you remember when you crossed over?”

“Oh, um, well, yeah, I remember it,” he answered, suddenly blushing to his ears. “Is it that way for everybody?”

“Yeah, generally,” she exhaled. “And neither one of them is going to be able to handle that right now. “ Glancing around the room, her eyes stopped on Sav and she whispered, “And someone else isn’t going to handle this well at all…”

What Lyra was thinking filtered into Sav’s mind a second later and he turned to find her staring at him. Their eyes locked for a long moment before Sav whispered, “Okay.” He let out a sigh, then said, “But I’m not leaving.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it, Rick,” Lyra said, preparing for the fight she thought was inevitable. The sad smile that crossed Sav’s face left her speechless as he said, “Nothing to be done about that first *urge*, right? And you’re right about the other two girls. They can’t deal with that right now. So unless you wanna call Leesha down from the bar, you’re the only one equipped to take care of it. Unless he might happen to be gay or something, which means we‘re REALLY out of luck?”

“Um, not a snowball’s chance, Sav,” Steve groaned, trying to smile as he pulled at the bars of David’s cage. “It’d be impossible for him to have gone through the girls as fast as the vodka, but he sure as shit tried.”

“Damn,” Sav said, heaving out a mocking deep breath. “Well, it was worth wishing for…”

Pinching the bridge of her nose to beat back the pain, Lyra replied, “Beside that, the rare gay vampire doesn’t react the same way a straight person does when they cross. Course, that’s if they’re environmentally gay, rather than genetically. Genetically gay will, for some reason, find themselves straight after crossing.”

Every pair of eyes in the room turned to look at her, some in surprise and others in curiosity. But Lyra didn’t notice it as a wave of crushing agony shot through her head, bringing her to her knees. Instantly, Sav and Michael were at her side. Steve left the others to work on bringing down the cell as he skidded in next to Lyra a moment later. Even James hovered worried over her, his link to her letting him feel a fraction of the pain running through her. Running his hand over her back, Sav pulled back in shock as he hissed, “She’s burning up from the inside!”

Touching the back of her neck, Steve said quietly, “How can she be that hot and NOT be on fire?” The three men closest to her stared at each other, fear written on their faces, as the walls of the last two cages crashed down. Lyra hadn’t moved a muscle since she’d hit the floor. Balled up on her knees, she held her head and fought the pain. Then, very slowly, only her head came up. Michael, who was directly in front of her, jumped back as soon as he saw her face. There was no expression at all. She didn’t blink. But that wasn’t what had frighten Michael. Her eyes now glowed red in the poorly lit basement. Her fangs were bared as she snarled, “Get everyone out of here. NOW!”

“Get them upstairs, Steve,” Sav whispered, staring in fascination at Lyra’s eyes.

“Not him,” Lyra answered tonelessly. Her eyes never shifted as she said, “He stays.”

“O…kay,” Sav said slowly. “Michael, get them out, but leave the old man here.” The doorman sagged against the wall at this, knowing his purpose in being there hadn’t been forgotten. With a curt nod, Michael ushered the other young vampires out of the room. Before he left, he placed a gentle hand on the doorman’s shoulder and whispered, “I’m sorry, man.”

“That’s okay, son,” the man answered. “I knew this would happen. At least it looks like I’m gonna go out in style, with what’s happening to her…” He smiled weakly at Michael, then turned back to watch the events in front of him unfold.

“Baby, what’s going on?” Sav asked, moving around to in front of her. She sat mute, staring into space without any movement. “Steve?”

“You’re the fucking mind reader, matey,” Steve said, pulling back. “Go to it.”

“I’ll try.” Closing his eyes, Sav tried to concentrate on Lyra’s thoughts. A split second later, he was howling in pain and clutching the sides of his head. He rolled away from her and stared at the ceiling as he pulled his thoughts back.

Scrambling over to his friend, a frightened Steve asked, “What the fuck was that?”

“Bugger all!” Sav hissed, taking Steve’s hand to pull himself up to a sitting position. “That was fucking intense!”

“WHAT?”

Glancing first at Lyra, he turned to face Steve and answered, “The amount of power going through her mind right now? It’s beyond anything I’ve ever felt before, man.” Looking back at Lyra’s frozen form, he asked himself quietly, “How the hell is she keeping all that inside?”

Her movements measured, Lyra got very slowly to her feet. She turned from the two men, who watched her anxiously, and came to stand over Duff’s body just as he took his first breath. Shooting upwards, he stared at her for a long second before turning to sniff the air. Lyra never moved as he flew across the room and attacked the doorman. Sav and Steve backed away, minutes growing long as they waited to see what would happen next.

The doorman’s limp form fell from Duff’s grasp as he looked around the room in a new hunger all vampires felt. His eyes scanned over Sav and Steve, then came to rest on Lyra. His movements were those of a tiger stocking it’s prey as he moved carefully over to Lyra’s side. She stared forward, unblinking, as his hands ran over her shoulders. Then he reached up and caressed her cheek, turning her face toward him. Her features thawed almost immediately, a blast of heat rushing through the room as she melted into Duff’s arms. The kiss was cruel and intense, lips bruising and healing over and over as they grappled with each other. Her body crashed into the bars of the center cage, the air ringing with the metallic clanging. The thin black fabric of her dress whipped over her head as Duff pressed her against the cool metal. Her legs wrapped tightly around him as he entered her, her hands grabbing the metal over her head. His mouth lowered to her shoulder, biting into it like the most delicious fruit he’d ever seen. After a long second, she let all her limbs enclose his body as she completed the vampiric kiss.

Sav was never really sure exactly what he witnessed in the brief moments of their coupling. At some point, the heat caused him to look away. The edges of the world seemed to blur and blend, his grip on reality slipping away. He turned from the scene, his own urges running away with him. If he’d watched a moment longer, he was sure he’d interfere in what had to happen. Then he heard Duff’s groan. He looked around and saw them come apart. For a second, he started to speak to Lyra. Then he saw her turn to face Steve, the look of heat and passion still changing the features of her much loved face. How could this really be his Lyra? And why would she turn to Steve like this?

Steve was kneeling on the floor, staring away from Lyra and Duff, when he felt her heated hands on his shoulder. As he looked around, he lost his balance and fell to the floor. Like lightening, Lyra was straddling him, grinding her pelvis against the straining bulge in his jeans. The radiant heat from her, slightly lessened but still intense, scorched his skin as she ripped his shirt open. A second later, her fingers tangled with the buckle on his broad leather belt. He closed his eyes as he heard the zipper lower, then felt the tug of denim pulled down over his hips. His hands, through a will of their own, traced up her thighs and rested on her buttocks as she lowered herself onto his swollen member. She rode his body at her own pace, heedless of any need but what was driving her. He saw her eyes close, her breath come in rapid pants as she moved over him. Then she was pulling him up into her arms until he was sitting upright. Her body never stopped moving as she whispered, “Help me! I can’t stop it!” But Steve was beyond words, her motion pushing his body to the limit as he climaxed into her. As he came, he felt her fangs tear into his throat. The urge to bite her overcame anything else and soon they were holding on as their bodies took and gave to each other what was needed. And something more.

Sav griped the heavy metal bars of the cage in front of him, willing himself not to think of what Lyra had done. After all, it wasn’t like it was the first time she’d had sex with Steve. As for Duff, well, there hadn’t been much choice there, had there? For some reason though, jealous thoughts of what she’d done with Michael crept into his thoughts. How the hell did she really feel about him, he wondered. Was he just one of the many or did she really care more about him as she’d always said?

He jumped when he felt a warm hand run up under his shirt. Spinning around, he found himself staring into her eyes. They’d very nearly returned to their normal warm hazel, yet the inner core of them still reflected a red glow. She smiled up at him, wanting him to feel the same way she felt at that moment. The inner fires that had raged in her had dimmed to a warm glow, that feeling of perfect need for him still running through her veins. Her hands ran up under his hair, pulling him gently down to her. Her kiss was tender now with none of the ferocity he’d seen when she’d been with Duff. In fact, she seemed like a completely different woman than the one who’d met Duff’s need with such fury. Her mouth moved slowly down his neck and he glanced over her shoulder at the other men in the room. Steve was slumped back on the floor, staring at the ceiling in a seeming stupor. To her other side, Duff looked at though he’d passed out. Knowing that neither of them would be watching made it easier to give in to what Lyra was doing.

His hands ran down her back until them cupped the gentle swell of her bottom. Pulling her against him, he let himself get into the flow of what was happening. He heard her murmuring against his chest and put his hand under her chin, pulling her back up until he could look her in the eyes. Her lips still moved and finally he realized what she was saying.

“I love you, baby. I need you. Love you, please help me!” The last came out a hoarse whisper.

“Do you really love ME, Lyra?” he asked softly.

“Can’t you feel it?” she asked desperately.

Sav closed his eyes, opening himself up to her for the first time since he’d felt the blast of power coming from her earlier. The heat was still there, though diminished. Behind the fire, there was a glow burning brightly. Like the light from the sun. Her love for him, still shining despite it all. No doubt, no fear, just love. His own doubt made him probe her mind, finding how she felt about each man she knew. Joe, still a dear friend but no longer a lover. The pity she felt for both Duff and James at being ripped unwilling from the mortal coil. Confusion when she thought of Michael, as though he was someone she was supposed to remember but couldn’t. But not the absolute love she felt for Sav. Not even Steve held as much of this woman’s heart as he did. Sav sighed as his own doubts faded. She would always be his, no matter what happened.

Sweeping her into his arms, he picked her up and carried her to one of the cots that lined the cage walls. A flurry of kissed rained down over her body as she wiggled in delight beneath him. They both forgot where they were. Living in a world outside time and place, they explored each other’s bodies once more. His need for her began as a tiny flame deep inside his heart until it raged into a full blown wildfire in him. His hand went under her knee, wrapping her leg around his back as he slid easily into her welcoming body. The strokes were slow, deep as they joined their bodies together. The tension between them built until, when neither of them could take it any longer, it reached a climax like waves crashing into the shore. As his body spilled into hers, he nuzzled at her neck and bit ever so gently into the warm, soft flesh he found there. He barely felt the slight rush of pain as her fangs entered his throat.

The light was blinding. Heat, fire, like daylight finding his body in it’s nighttime hiding place. He wanted to scream, but he couldn’t move. It seemed as though their bodies fused for that long moment when they shared blood. Then, finally satisfied, she slid out from under him and he was left dazed on the hard cot. Minutes, hours or days passed before he was aware of his surroundings again.

“Sav?” Steve whispered. “We’ve got to go now. Everybody upstairs is heading for Phil’s place. It’s the only safe place to hide all these vampires until we can get them to England and the castle.”

“Where is she?” Sav asked softly.

“Upstairs, trying to convince all these newbies that they really can fly,” Michael answered from the stair well. “Most of them are a little, well, disbelieving of any help being offered.” He glanced over at Steve and Duff, then laughed. “You two are going to be hard to tell apart now, you do realize that?”

“What?” Duff asked as Steve gave him a hand up. Michael watched as he stood up and up, stretching to his full six foot four inches.

“Well, while you were sitting down, you guys looked a lot alike,” Michael said, suddenly backpedaling. “You know, that blond hair and all? But, considering the height difference, I don’t think it’s going to be a problem.”

“I don’t know,” Steve said, smiling at Duff. “Now that the tattoos are gone, guess it could get a little confusing for someone who doesn’t know us…I mean, people are always saying I’m the one with the really blond hair. Now there’s two of us with it!”

“But you look a hell of a site younger than me, man,” Duff said, shaking his head.

“I really wish you could see a mirror,” Steve answered. “Remember what you looked like back when Appetite was out? Well, you actually look a little younger than that now.”

“You’re fucking joking!” Duff said, running his hands over his face. Failing to feel the sagging skin of old age, he looked down toward his stomach. Instead of the slight paunch he’d been used to seeing, there was once again the flat stomach he’d had as a younger man. At that, he laughed and said, “Hmm, maybe this vampire shit could be fun.”

“You’ve got no idea!” Steve chuckled as he turned to find the others. Everyone followed him up at their own pace, finding Lyra trying to organize the rag tag group of new vampires. Phil and Leesha were talking to some of them. Everything they said was met with negative shaking heads. Finally, Michael glanced at the clock and said, “Okay, we don’t have time for this, plus the Hunters are still out there shooting everyone who tries to fly off anyway. How’s about we boost a van or something?”

“That’s not a half bad idea,” Leesha said thoughtfully. A second later, she walked out of the building with Phil on her heels.

“Get whatever blankets you can find,” Lyra said as she looked around at the group. “Just in case the sun comes up while we’re en route to Phil’s place.” The group scattered, scouring the rooms above and below as they looked for anything to cover themselves from the sun. Walking out into the bar, some of the vampires encountered mortals for whom the party had never stopped. The bartender, waiting on orders from Erzebet, had never stopped serving. So most of the patrons didn’t realize just how late it was. Leesha and Phil walked through just in time to stop Keifer and Stuart from taking mortals in plain view of their human company. Dragging the two errant vampires with them, they went back below and told Lyra, “We’ve got a van outside, though from the looks of it, the Hunters aren’t going to be happy…”

“I don’t care,” Lyra sighed, motioning for everyone to head out. The large group made it through the bar without any incidents. But, waiting outside, Lyra was confronted by the leader of the Hunters.

“Where do you think you’re going in my van?” he asked angrily.

“I’m getting these guys away before the sun comes up,” Lyra said, barely looking at him. He grabbed her by the arm, only to be brushed away by Lyra’s thoughts. “You’ll get it back, if you behave yourself. But,” she turned and looked him in the eye, “if you try to follow us, I’ll kill you myself and feed you to anybody who wants your rancid blood.”

“And just what am I supposed to do,” he inquired crossly, though he didn’t try to touch her again. “Catch a taxi?”

“I’m sure, if I know you at all, that you’ve got a back up plan. Use it.” At that, she turned away and watched as the vampires packed themselves tightly into the van. Blankets covered heads until Lyra could barely tell there was an undead cargo inside it. As soon as everyone was settled, Leesha took the seat behind the wheel and waited for Lyra to get in. Lyra looked back at Mitch and said, “I mean what I say. I’ll keep this group in line and you keep your people away from us. If there’s a problem, I promise you, I’ll handle it myself”

Before the man could answer her, Lyra walked around the van and slid into the passenger seat with a package wrapped in blanket at her feet. She leaned back, closed her eyes and whispered, “Get us out of here, Leesh.”

“You’re the boss,” Leesha said with a smile, pulling the cargo van out of the alley and heading towards Phil’s home. Something told her the next few days were going to be VERY interesting.